My Account Wish List
Advanced Search
Print - Close Window
www.greenwood.com/catalog/GR9270.aspx
All Greenwood Products
August Wilson A Research and Production Sourcebook
(Click to Enlarge)
Yvonne Shafer
Book Code: GR9270
ISBN: 0-313-29270-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-29270-5
160 pages, chronology,
Greenwood Press
Publication: 1/30/1998
List Price: $98.95 (UK Sterling Price: £57.95)
Availability: Print on demand
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • ...an excellent research guide for materials relating to August Wilson....Recommended for all libraries.
    —Choice
Description: When Ma Rainey's Black Bottom opened in 1984, August Wilson was unknown in theatre. By 1988 he was described as the foremost dramatist of the American black experience and was the most acclaimed playwright of his time by 1990. He is one of only seven American playwrights to win two Pulitzer prizes and one of only three black playwrights to receive that award. Remarkably, Wilson has been able to explore and communicate the American black experience, while also achieving a universality that attracts the white audiences needed for commercial success. Based on extensive research that includes two interviews with Wilson, this reference book is a comprehensive guide to Wilson's life and career. The volume begins with a chronology outlining the principle events in Wilson's rise from the racism he experienced as a youth in Pittsburgh to his triumphs on the New York stage. A brief biography illuminates his approach to writing plays, his outlook on life and the theatre, and the way his experiences have shaped his art. The volume then provides plot synopses for each of Wilson's plays, an overview of their critical reception, production histories, and extensive annotated bibliographic information. Thus the book provides a detailed record of the development of interest in Wilson's work from the critical acclaim of his early plays to his recent controversial debate with Robert Brustein.
Table of Contents:
  • A Note on Codes and Numbering
  • Chronology
  • Life and Career
  • The Plays: Summaries and Critical Overviews
  • Fences (1985)
  • Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1986)
  • Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984)
  • The Piano Lesson (1990)
  • Seven Guitars (1996)
  • Two Trains Running (1992)
  • Primary Bibliography
  • Secondary Bibliography
  • Productions and Credits
  • Author Index
  • General Index
LC Card Number: 97-38989
LCC Class: PS3573
Dewey Class: 812
All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2008 Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881, (203) 226-3571